What's the Motivation?

What--Bush blocked a probe of the NSA program? And you don't recall seeing that on the front pages anywhere? See my July 19 column, Cover-Up Exposed?

The Run-Up to War

Mark Mazzetti writes in the New York Times: "The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee lashed out at the White House on Thursday, criticizing attempts by the Bush administration to keep secret parts of a report on the role Iraqi exiles played in building the case for war against Iraq.

"The chairman, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, said his committee had completed the first two parts of its investigation of prewar intelligence. But he chastised the White House for efforts to classify most of the part that examines intelligence provided to the Bush administration by the Iraqi National Congress, an exile group."

Mazzetti calls this "a sign that more than three years into the conflict, emotions remain raw over the role that the Iraqi group and its leader, Ahmad Chalabi -- who was close to Pentagon officials and Vice President Dick Cheney -- played in the administration's decision to wage war against Saddam Hussein."

Matt Stearns writes for McClatchy Newspapers that even with two parts of the report complete: "That leaves unfinished three reports in the so-called Phase II investigation, including the potentially explosive one that compares the pre-war public statements of government officials to the intelligence they had at the time. Opponents of the war have said the administration routinely exaggerated the menace presented by Iraq."

Signing Statement Watch

George Pyle , an editorial writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, complains in the Tribune's editorial blog that I did not include his paper's Sunday editorial in my Wednesday column about editorials from all over the country expressing outrage about Bush's signing statements.

The Tribune wrote: "Congress and the courts must rein in this presidential power grab. To do otherwise would be to court tyranny."

And yes, in 2004, the Tribune endorsed Bush.

Cuba Watch

Bush released this statement on Cuba yesterday: "I urge the Cuban people to work for democratic change on the island. We will support you in your effort to build a transitional government in Cuba committed to democracy, and we will take note of those, in the current Cuban regime, who obstruct your desire for a free Cuba."

Anthony Boadle writes for Reuters: "Cuba bristled at U.S. President George W. Bush's call for democracy for the Communist island amid growing uncertainty after ailing President Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to brother Raul."

And Patrick Lescot writes for AFP: "Cuba is on heightened alert, wary of a possible invasion by US-based Cuban exiles."

Vacation Watch

Bush settled down last night at his Crawford home for a 10-day summer vacation.

Michael Fletcher writes in the Washington Post about last year's disastrous vacation: "The image of Bush on an extended stay away from the White House while Katrina flattened much of the Gulf Coast and left New Orleans engulfed by floodwater proved to be a defining moment of his presidency."

Nedra Pickler writes for the Associated Press: "The White House was taking pains to make sure it didn't appear that the president was tuned out from the world's problems, even temporarily. Bush's national security adviser and secretary of state were to arrive at the ranch Saturday to discuss a diplomatic resolution to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon."

Froomkin on the Radio

I'll be on Washington Post Radio today, shortly after 2 p.m. ET.

When Bubbles Collide

Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon slams Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban for turning down Bush's dinner invitation Sunday night.

"[I]t's silly to the point of being preposterous, and probably just another way for the most controlling of football coaches to control something and somebody else. . . .

"So, it's as simple as this: Saban would rather lock himself in a cave and watch film, tinker with schemes, pore over depth charts and sit around with his assistants plotting the exciting intricacies of the next day's practices than have dinner with the president for two hours."

Briefing Room Follies

Where I saw insults at Bush's last visit to the briefing room before a nine-month renovation on Wednesday, Time's Mike Allen saw good humor.

Joe Strupp writes for Editor and Publisher: "Steve Scully, president of the White House Correspondents Association and a senior C-SPAN producer, said at least three organizations have expressed an interest in the press briefing room items, which are being removed today and put in storage by the U.S. General Services Administration."

David S. Hirschman writes in Editor and Publisher with some expert advice for Karl Rove, on the assumption that he is "scheming with GOP architects and interior designers about ways to use the new room's design to further neuter the Washington reporters. . . .

" 'If you want to make people uncomfortable, you should have sharp edges of things coming at them, like pointed walls or beams overhead,' says Michele Sayres, who runs a design and feng shui consulting firm in New York. . . .

"Sayres also said that color has an effect, and that the administration might consider changing the blue curtain in the backdrop to a more 'powerful and energetic' red, or even to an American flag. She also suggested the White House could make the podium larger and higher, so that the person fielding questions seems to be towering above the reporters in the gallery. 'That says, 'I'm important and you're nothing.' "